Television screens, postcards, photos from all over the internet — these are ways that cities are depicted in their most appealing and fashionable form. With bright lights along the Hudson, Millennium Park on a sunny, windy day, Mardi Gras, or skyscrapers lining the streets and providing a great aerial view, there is more often than not only one side of cities that many Americans, young and old, see. From the outside looking in, there is glitz and glam, but for somebody who actually resides in a major city, I mean a part that is not often seen, the perception is so much different. There is a life that is not acknowledged in most of the major and sub-major U.S. cities. Crime, poverty, faulty education systems, and a lack of hope are just some of the systemic problems that people in the less well known areas of a major city face with on a day-to-day basis.
For a lot Americans, television is used as the go-to hub for finding out what is going on all over the world, whether near or far from where they live. That is not to diminish the influence stemmed from newspapers, magazines, and the internet as other ways to receive the news. Despite the source, two things happen often that I see as unfit and unfair. One being that it is at time of societal crises, when news outlets decide that that is the best time to show Americans the hardships poor and less-known communities are facing. The other issue being that the news would rather broadcast or write about cities as if all they have to offer are the "to die for" restaurants, photogenic neighborhoods, and the latest events happening. There's not ever an in between.
See, the pattern followed is that for one or two weeks there is a constant bombard of photos and videos of communities or individuals who are retaliating against the oppression they face currently,but by the next week you drastically see the news coverage diminish. And while there still may be a story here and there just touching basis about what happened, it was no where near what it used to be. The stories transition to what becomes appealing to their viewers, because who wants to keep seeing the "same thing" even when it is not as climatic nor discussed as much it was just a week ago? We can't solely blame it on the news because believe it or not, they are doing what they get paid to do. Unfortunately, this is the mentality that has become "the norm" when it comes to situations like this.
This is a major problem.
After talking with several friends and based on a personal experience I had myself, I saw how much we (the outsiders looking in) were and are blind sided about the reality others face in cities. I have talked to people who are the subject for which I am writing this article and they too, have said that they have had to explain that living in inner cities is not what it is cracked up to be. The most important lesson ever learned is that struggle is not temporary. Rather than just listening to what was in front me, I should have educated my mind further into the real issues. Real issues such as the poverty rate in cities and neighboring communities across the country, and while it somewhat may have decreased slightly over the last three years, it still is a crisis. Because the day where there are not children and families fighting hunger every meal, everyday for 365 days is when it will no longer be a crisis. The day where injustice does not prevail in less known communities and where violence can stop in order to secure the lives of our future, is where progression will be made for the equality of all despite race, religion, or socioeconomic status. The day where the importance of education for children trumps politics, is the day I will deem successful and another step toward a brighter future for those who are not as privileged.
